by L. P. Dover
Mission accomplished.
“Almost through,” Connor grunted.
The second I got off the plane in New York, it had been constant badgering about my failed relationship with Nick. Felicity wasn’t happy and I could see her fuming every time someone shouted another question at me.
Luckily, the light at the end of the tunnel was near and we were able to get in a car and drive away. “Holy shit, I didn’t think it would be that bad,” I said.
Felicity snorted. “What did you expect? You and Nick were one of the hottest couples in Hollywood. Now every single female in town is going to be after him. I hope you’re ready for that.”
“I truly just want him happy. If that means he has to sleep with a hundred women, so be it. I’m not holding him back anymore. I’ll always be grateful for what he did for me.”
Leaning her head against the seat, she closed her eyes. “He was just so upset when I talked to him last night. It breaks my heart, Hadley.”
“Mine too, but I couldn’t pretend forever. I don’t love him, and I realize that now. Falling in love with Blake has opened my eyes. Nick will be happier in the end. You’ll see.”
“I sure hope so. When did Blake say he was coming to see you?”
Shrugging, I looked down at my phone. “I don’t know. He just said he was coming.” But I didn’t know if Blake knew how to find me, since I’d given back my untraceable cell. Every time I called him, it went straight to voicemail. I hadn’t actually talked to him since I left Wyoming.
The concert at Madison Square Garden was in a couple of hours, and Connor was driving us there for warm ups. I was nervous to get on stage. It’d only been a day since I’d told Nick about Blake, and the media couldn’t wait to slap a big, red A on my chest.
Hadley
“Thank you, everyone!” I shouted, waving at the crowd. It felt good to be on stage again. The adrenaline flowed through my veins and I soaked it all in. I blew a kiss to the fans and rushed off stage.
“Hot damn, you were on fire,” Felicity exclaimed, handing me a towel and a bottle of water.
Laughing, I wiped the sweat off my brow. “Thanks. I forgot how much fun it was to perform.”
“You definitely haven’t lost your touch. In fact, I think you’ve gotten better, bolder even.”
“Has Blake called?”
She passed me my phone. “No, but he texted and said he was getting on a plane for New York. He’ll be in late tonight. I replied and gave him the name of the hotel you’re staying at.”
Squealing, I jumped up and down. “I can’t wait for you to meet him.”
She gave me a sad smile as she stared at something over my shoulder. “There’s someone who wants to see you.” She squeezed my arm and I froze. I knew who was there, and I didn’t know if I was ready to see him so soon. “I’ll give you two some privacy. Because once you walk out those doors over there,” she said, pointing to the exit, “you’re going to be bombarded with reporters. They know he’s back here.”
As soon as she walked off, I could feel him come up behind me.
“You did great tonight.”
My chest tightened, but I held back the tears as I turned to face him. “Were you here the whole time?”
He ran a hand through his midnight colored hair and smiled. I could tell it was forced. “I didn’t want to miss your first time back. I knew you’d be nervous as hell.”
I snorted. “You got that right. I guess I didn’t think you’d want to see me after last night.”
Sighing, he pulled me into his arms. “I’m not gonna lie, I was pissed. But I also know you weren’t mine to begin with.” He tilted my chin up, his soft green gaze focusing on mine. “You’ve been nothing but honest with me along the way, and I was just too hardheaded to listen. Which is why I went to the press and told them we ended things amicably. I saw what they were posting about you and I didn’t like it. Your reputation didn’t need to be trashed because of me.”
“Nick, you didn’t have to do that.”
“Yes, I did,” he murmured. “I guess now I can enjoy the single life for a while.”
We stepped away from each other and I could feel the distance between us. It would always be different from this point on. “Please tell me I haven’t lost you as a friend. I care about you, Nick. You mean a lot to me.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Hadley. It might take some time for me to get adjusted, but we’ll get there. If you want, you can come out with me and the guys tonight. I think Felicity’s coming.”
I shook my head. “I think I’ll just go back to the hotel and crash. I’m heading back to California tomorrow.”
He nodded, then his gaze landed on the stage door. “Want me to go out there with you?”
The crowd of reporters could be heard through the door. “No, I got it. Thank you though. I’m sure Connor will get me through pretty fast. I’ll see you back in California, okay?”
He nodded. “Goodbye, Hadley.”
“Bye, Nick.” I kissed his cheek and started for the door, where Connor stood.
“You ready?” he asked.
Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly. “Yep. Let’s go.” He opened the door and I stepped out into the madness.
“Miss Rivers, are you and Nick going to work things out? We know he was backstage with you,” a female reporter shouted, shoving a microphone in my face.
“We’re friends, and we always will be,” I replied. Connor nudged me to keep moving.
“Are you seeing someone else? Who is he?” another reporter asked.
“I think that’s enough questions for tonight,” Connor announced.
“Mr. MacCabe, how do you feel knowing Miss Rivers’ last bodyguard was shot and killed on duty?”
Huffing, he turned around and blocked me from view. There were two security guards by the back door and they rushed up and blocked the reporters from going any further. Connor opened the back door and ushered me into the car. He watched me clasp the buckle and then pointed at something in the center console. “I was told you liked ginger ale. I got you a bottle and put it in there.”
“Oh, thank you.” I opened the bucket and pulled out the chilled bottle as he walked around front and got into the driver’s seat. “Do you want some?” I asked, holding out a bottle.
He shook his head. “Trying to watch my figure.”
I snorted at his response. Opening my own bottle, I chugged half of it and sat back relaxed. “What time do you think we’ll make it back to the hotel?”
“Fifteen minutes, probably. Lots of traffic.”
Pulling out my phone, I saw where Felicity had texted him back. I couldn’t wait to see him.
Me: I’ll be at the hotel in 15 mins. Meet in lobby?
Blake: See you there.
The traffic went to a standstill and Connor swerved around, taking another street.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Shortcut. Do you still have your seatbelt on?”
Everything started to get blurry and my eyes grew heavy. “Yeah, I . . . I think . . . so.” My words sounded like they were jumbled together. I grabbed the strap and felt it across my chest, my fingers tingling as I clutched it. “Connor, I don’t feel so good.”
“What’s wrong? Do I need to stop the car?”
My whole body started to go numb and I couldn’t speak. It was as if my mind was still there, but only not. Time didn’t seem to exist. The car picked up speed and everything went black. Connor yelled for me to hold on, but I couldn’t feel my hands and my muscles weren’t listening to my brain’s warning to grasp onto something. All I could feel was the heat of flames across my skin, yet there was no pain.
Blake
“What the fuck is going on?” I grumbled. Hadley had sent me a text hours ago saying she was on her way to the hotel. Where the hell was she? The hotel staff hadn’t seen her come in and she wasn’t in her room. I texted and called, but no reply.
My phone rang and I picked it up. “Whe
re are you?” I barked into the phone, thinking it was her.
“I’m in California.” It was Robert and he sounded hesitant.
“Shit. Sorry, Robert. I thought you were Hadley. What’s going on?”
“Are you in New York?”
“Yeah, I just got here.”
His heavy sigh made me tense. “I think you should go to the station. There’s been an accident.”
“Accident? What kind of accident?”
“Look at the news and you’ll see. I’m sorry, Blake. I didn’t want to be the one to tell you.”
Dropping my phone, I ran into the hotel bar and pushed past everyone crowded around the counter. The TV’s above showed nothing but fire, and the words below emblazoned in blue, Hadley Rivers, dead?
Holy fuck.
Women around me cried while others watched the news in complete horror. I couldn’t watch anymore. “She’s dead?” someone cried. “How can she be dead? Wasn’t she just giving a concert tonight? She was so young.”
I refused to believe it. She wasn’t gone, it had to be a mistake. What if it wasn’t?
“Fuck.” I gripped the counter and momentarily felt lightheaded before the anger took over. If it was her in that car, someone was going to pay for taking her away from me. Growling, I hurried back to where I dropped my phone, dialing Robert’s number as I stormed out the door.
“Evan’s, you okay?”
“Call the Chief of Police out here and tell them I’m coming.”
“What are you going to do? You can’t interfere in this.”
“I don’t care. I want answers.” Everything inside of me was numb. I didn’t want to feel the pain yet. I wanted answers, and I sure as hell was going to get them.
“I’m sorry Mr. Evans, but I can’t allow you back there. The chief said only family is allowed at this time.” The arrogant twat glanced down at his paperwork, completely dismissing me.
My blood boiled. I’d been sitting there for over two fucking hours. “Look, fucker,” I growled, grabbing him by the neck, “I showed you my badge and told you who I am. I want to talk to the Chief of Police. I suggest you let me back there before I rip off your goddamn head.” He grasped at my hands, but all it did was make me squeeze harder.
“Mr. Evans, let him go. I’m Byron Jennings.” I glanced over my shoulder at the middle-aged man, pursing his lips. “Robert called and told me to expect you.” He had graying, dark hair and a moustache, his uniform badge confirming he was the Chief of Police.
I squeezed shitdick’s neck one more time because it felt good, and then let him go. He grabbed his neck and fell back in his chair, coughing.
Byron stood to the side and motioned for me to walk past. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t assault my staff.”
“And I’d appreciate it if he wouldn’t act like a cunt. Now what happened to Hadley?”
Sighing, he started down the hall and I followed. “It looks like her bodyguard lost control of the car. They slammed into a tree right outside of Burnsville. According to her agent, she was staying at a hotel in town. It makes no sense why they were heading out of the city.”
Where the hell was she going? “Something’s not right. She sent me a text right after her concert saying she was on her way to the hotel. There’s no fucking way this was an accident.”
He shrugged. “We don’t have any evidence proving otherwise. Hadley’s father did say he’d received threats on her life over the past couple of years, but as far as we can tell, they were all just ploys to get his money. Believe me, if this was intentional, we’ll find the culprit. Right now, we have our people gathering everything they can. As it stands, it’s being ruled as an accident . . .”
Byron’s mouth kept moving, but I couldn’t hear a fucking thing he said.
The signs were there . . . why couldn’t anyone else see it as I did? It wasn’t a fucking accident. My chest tightened so hard, I could barely draw in a breath. I didn’t want to feel the pain of her loss; I wanted the anger. It didn’t hurt as bad if I could focus on that. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her face. I should’ve been there to protect her. If I’d only gotten to her sooner.
“Mr. Evans, stop!” The voice seemed so far away. I could feel arms drawing me back. There was blood dripping from my right hand and a large hole in the wall. There was a larger hole in my chest. “What the fuck is your problem?” Byron shouted.
I collapsed into the wall and looked down at my hands. They were blurry and my eyes burned. I never fucking cried. The cops in front of me watched my every move, as if I was going to snap.
“I’ll pay for the damage,” I said, not even recognizing the voice that came out of my mouth. I didn’t feel like myself anymore.
“Guys, back off,” Byron commanded. The cops scattered, but chose to stay close just in case. I couldn’t blame them. I was a ticking time bomb. The chief approached me cautiously and placed a hand on my shoulder. “Robert told me you two were involved. I’m sorry, I know this is difficult. But I can’t help you if you don’t calm down.”
“Tell me the rest.”
“From what we can piece together, after the crash, the car burst into flames. There didn’t appear to be a struggle to get out.”
The thought of Hadley burning to death made me sick. Swallowing hard, I nodded and blew out a shaky breath. “How fast were they going?”
“Judging by the damage, it was probably around twenty miles per hour. There were skid marks found at the scene, where they swerved off the road. You’re more than welcome to look at what we have so far. We’ve also recovered a couple of Hadley’s belongings.”
Jaw tense, I nodded. “I want to see them.”
He led me further down the hall and I stopped in front of one of the doors. I recognized the guy inside. It was Nick, and he had his arm around another female, who sat sobbing uncontrollably.
Byron nodded to them. “That’s Hadley’s agent, Felicity, and her brother, Nick. He and Hadley were involved for a time.”
“I know.” Even though it was all a ploy, I didn’t bother correcting him. It was no use. I was the last person Nick would want to see.
“All right, let’s go in here.” Byron opened the door to the next room. There was nothing in there but a table and four chairs. “Have a seat and I’ll get everything we’ve gathered so far.” I walked inside and paced the floor to keep my body moving. If I slowed down, I’d crash. A few minutes later, Byron walked in with two file folders and a box, placing them on the table. “Do you need some privacy?”
“Please,” I replied. He nodded once and shut the door on his way out.
I slid the folders toward me and didn’t bother with the box. I wasn’t ready to see its contents. I’d never been so scared to open a file in my life. Taking a deep breath, I opened the first folder and read everything from start to finish.
There were no witnesses to see what’d actually happened. I didn’t like that at all.
Pushing the folder away, I stared down at the next one containing pictures. I carefully opened it up and closed my eyes when the first picture came into view. It was of the back of the car, all black and charred from fire. Bile burned my throat as I flipped to the next picture; the backseat, with nothing but a pile of ash. To be burnt like that, the car had to have been on fire for quite a while.
Closing my eyes, I slammed my fist on the table. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”
I pushed the pictures away and my hand grazed across the box. If I couldn’t look at another picture, how the hell was I going to look in the box? My body shook and I was ready to explode, but I didn’t know what to do. For the first time in my life, I was lost.
Taking a deep breath, I reached for the box and opened it. Everything was covered in a black film. There was one thing that stuck out at me above the rest. I pulled it out and wiped it off with my shirt. Gritting my teeth, I clenched the crystal so hard in my fist it drew blood. It was all that was left of the necklace I’d given Hadley; it was all that was left of her period.
/>
The door to the room opened and Byron cleared his throat.
Lifting my head, I wiped the tears angrily away from my face. “I’ve seen shit like this for years and it’s never bothered me before.”
He took the seat across from me. “I know. My brother was shot in an armed robbery call. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever witnessed.”
How the hell could he compare Hadley’s situation to that? “Speaking of witnesses, why aren’t there any? Someone had to have seen something.”
“We’re working on it. They were in the middle of nowhere when it happened. There’s nothing we could find that would suggest foul play.”
Growling, I pounded a hand on the table and stood. “Everything points to that,” I shouted. “They weren’t where they were supposed to be and they ended up dead. If your people can’t figure this shit out, I’ll do it myself.” Storming to the door, I slammed it open and walked out, only to run right into Felicity and Nick.
Felicity’s eyes went wide and she gasped. “Blake?” she cried.
Nick tensed, recognition flaring in his gaze. I was the one who took Hadley from him, and now she was gone forever. All that was left of her was the crystal I had fisted in my hand.
“I know you cared about her,” Byron called, “but there’s nothing you can do. She’s gone. Killing yourself over this case will only make it worse.”
I glanced over my shoulder. “I don’t care. Something’s not right and I’m going to figure it out. I’m not letting this go.” Without another word, I turned and headed for the exit. But I wasn’t alone. Nick’s footsteps pounded heavily behind me.
“Hey,” he ordered. I ignored him and walked out into the parking lot to the black SUV I’d rented. “Hey, I’m talking to you,” he shouted angrily.
Stopping at the car, I jerked around, fists clenched at my sides. “And I’m telling you to leave me the fuck alone.”
He held his hands up. “I’m not trying to start shit. I just want to know what’s going on. They haven’t told me anything because I’m not family.”
I scoffed. “What’s there to say? Hadley’s dead. She’s fucking gone!”
